Map of the Twin Kingdoms of Aran and Ilan - Handdrawn

[Ilanthar]

Well, it's another good version of a good map !

[Eilathen]

I agree with my fellow commenters...another very lovely map. Has a Max-ish quality to it.
As with most maps of this style, i am no big fan of the forests...but otherwise, as said, a very well done piece of map-work.
Maybe you could mix up the mountains a bit more...the mountains are very singular in style which makes it kind of repetitive.

[Caenwyr]

Thanks for your comments, guys!

Maybe you could mix up the mountains a bit more...the mountains are very singular in style which makes it kind of repetitive.

You're right, Eilathen, they do look a bit repetitive. Maybe that's because of the rather harsh shadowing I added. I'll see if I can do anything about that.

In the meantime, here's another update, people! Most important changes are the in-map shields, and a major overhaul of the sidebar. Apart from that there's also tons of smaller tweaks and corrections, not all of them important, but necessary all the same.

[- Max -]

The contrast between the heavily shaded mountains and the forests is a bit odd to my eyes. I would either shade the forests more or decrease the shadows of mountains

[Ilanthar]

I agree with - Max - and my preference would go to decrease the shadow of mountains. But that's purely a matter of taste, I think.

[Caenwyr]

I think I'm gonna do a bit of both. I'll diminish the harsh mountain shadows, but I'm also gonna do an in-depth test of the forest shadowing. To be continued ;-)

[Gidde]

Wow, great update. The old version is pretty, but the new version really pops. Well done

[Caenwyr]

Hi all! Below is a quick update on the forest texturing. I started shading and lighting the forests (did it by hand, Photoshops shading obviously doesn't work on the ripples in the middle of a forest patch). Below you'll find a quick printscreen of the zone I already took care of, without the overlaying layers such as labels, roads, borders etc. The idea is that this way the contrast between the forests and the mountains will be a bit clearer.Be sure to let me know what you think!C

[- Max -]

Looks like way better imho I would also add some shade to suggest the trunks line. That will give your forests a bit of depth aswell.

[Caenwyr]

Good idea Max, will do. Maybe a black copy of the forest layer, moved 1 px down, I might even noise it up and add some vertical motion blur to make it appear more trunklike instead of a solid black "shadow". Might be butt ugly, but must be tested. Experiments galore!